As of today, FC Einsiedeln’s Tenerolager 23 is already a thing of the past. Warehouse manager Koni Kuriger and head chef Erwin Schuler are handing over their jobs to younger hands and can look back on a wonderful time in Ticino.
When asked what he was doing in the first week of May 2024, Erwin Schuler replied that he would be in Einsiedeln at the “Sünnele” while it would probably rain in Ticino. With a wink, the former top referee poked fun at the fact that the Swiss sunny spot did not always show itself from its most splendid side during many FCE tenero camps. “But the children didn’t really care, with the possible exception of that camp when it snowed practically the whole week,” Koni Kuriger recalls. He spent eight years as a camp manager and fourteen as a trainer in the Centro Sportivo, the impressive sports center on Lake Maggiore, which – in addition to the numerous campsites – made the village of Tenero nationally famous. Schuler ran the camp kitchen for an unbelievable 28 years. Before that, as a trainer since 1987, the two “Tenero dinosaurs” have in common because they once made the journey to Ticino. It was their own children that prompted the two to start as senior camp participants.
Construction and expansion witnessed
You have witnessed with your own eyes how the facility developed from a “farm with a sports field” to a state-of-the-art facility in which numerous sports can be practiced today. Around 30 years ago, he started cooking for the football kids in the open air using wood and gas. Not only have the cooking facilities been modernized over the years, Schuler and his crew have also constantly tried to optimize their catering offering while keeping costs as low as possible. “I could write a book about everything I’ve experienced in the Centro Sportivo,” says Schuler. In addition to the countless beautiful encounters with children and leadership groups, there were also experiences that got under his skin, for example when a boy with a racing heart had to be taken to the hospital because he had an overdose of energy drinks. Since then, buying such drinks has been banned. Kuriger remembered the outbreak of the norovirus four years ago, which turned the Tenero camp into a single hospital for the FCE. He was impressed by the solidarity of those people who were not infected but cared for the affected children and leaders. An unparalleled feat that made everyone come closer together back then.
Experience passed on in recipes Schuler will be able to pass on a great deal of experience in written form to his successor. He meticulously collected, adapted, refined and optimized recipes in order to be prepared for various numbers of participants. A legacy that will be worth its weight in gold for the new kitchen crew. In the kitchen, a real change of generations is taking place. While pensioners “DJ Örwein” and Gerry Waldvogel are leaving the kitchen crew, Raphael Petrig, Cédric Schnyder and Fabian Kälin will be joined by a trio who experienced the camp themselves as children. Koni Kuriger would have continued if Christoph Oberholzer had not been the ideal successor for the main management. «This job has always been an affair of the heart for me, which I did with great pleasure. Now I know that the future of the camp is in good hands and that the FCE can hopefully travel to Ticino for another 100 years.” Erwin Schuler sees it very similarly. He hopes that this camp will live on for a long time. Participation is a great privilege for the children, not just in terms of sport but also socially. However, it must remain an adventure camp and not become an educational event. The parents are still responsible for this.
How about the first week of May next year? Koni Kuriger will certainly pay a visit to the new crew. And should the weather turn out differently than Erwin Schuler humorously suspects, maybe he too will treat himself to a sunny day in the Centro Sportivo!
Photo: Marcel Schuler
The somewhat different handing over of a wooden spoon by Erwin Schuler (right) to Raphael Petrig.
Koni Kuriger (left) hands over the management of the camp to Christoph Oberholzer. Photos: Oliver Borner
2023-05-05 00:17:45
#Tenero #era
